Megyn Kelly reportedly ‘completely overhauled’ her interview with Alex Jones
A new report claims that NBC host Megyn Kelly has “completely overhauled” her interview with Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
According to Page Six, Kelly reached out to relatives of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, to appear on-camera to rebut Jones, who as recently as 2015 said that he believes that the shooting was a government hoax that used child actors.
The Page Six report follows days of tense discussion after Kelly first released a teaser for the Jones interview this past Sunday. The interview drew harsh criticism from many, including the parents of Sandy Hook victims. Sandy Hook Promise, a gun violence prevention nonprofit created after the mass shooting, announced Monday that they had asked Kelly to step down as host of their annual Promise Champion Gala in light of the interview.
“NBC was scrambling to find a way out of this mess without having to back down and cancel Sunday’s episode of Megyn’s show,” a source told Page Six. “Megyn and her producers made numerous calls to the Sandy Hook families this week to ask them to appear on the show. Some refused because they didn’t think appearing on her show would do enough to counter Alex Jones’ venom.”
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Nelba Márquez-Greene, whose daughter Ana was killed in the shooting and who roundly criticized Kelly after the teaser was released, confirmed in a series of tweets at least some of what Page Six reported. But Márquez-Greene also said Kelly was “not contrite” when she spoke with her, and that the Page Six article was “damage control” by Kelly and NBC.
“This is a damage control article, riddled with partial truth, based on conversations that were supposed to be confidential. #truth,” Márquez-Greene tweeted Thursday in response to the article.
“For the record: she was not contrite,” Márquez-Greene said of her conversation with Kelly in another tweet. “Quite the opposite. So sad to see lying on top bad judgement.”
Multiple outlets also reported Thursday that attorneys representing several relatives of Sandy Hook victims sent NBC a letter urging them not to air the interview.
“Airing Ms. Kelly’s interview implicitly endorses the notion that Mr. Jones’ lies are actually ‘claims’ that are worthy of serious debate; and in doing so it exponentially enhances the suffering and distress of our clients. For that NBC is responsible,” wrote attorneys Josh Koskoff and Katie Mesner-Hage, per Variety. “We urge you to consider the ethical and legal ramifications of broadcasting this interview to millions of Americans. By now, it should be clear to NBC that airing the interview will cause serious emotional distress to dozens of Sandy Hook families. NBC – and NBC alone – has the power to prevent that harm.”
Furthermore, Jones released a video early Friday morning of what he claims is secretly recorded audio of Kelly’s conversations with him. In the video, Kelly says that she “saw a different side of” Jones in the wake of his highly publicized custody case and promised Jones that the interview was “not going to be a contentious, sort of ‘gotcha’ exchange.”
Jones said in a video released Monday night that he doesn’t want the interview to air, either.
“I agree with the families of the victims of Sandy Hook,” Jones said in the video. “The Alex Jones profile interview with Megyn Kelly does not need to air, it needs to be shelved.”
Kelly’s interview with Jones is scheduled to air this Sunday, June 18, during Kelly’s new show, Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly. The show begins at 7 p.m. EST.
